I have a Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2 engine that I have owned for about 5 years.  I hadn't run it in quite a while until recently.  At first, it jerked around the layout, starting and stopping.  So, I cleaned the wheels and checked to see if there was any dirt or debris between the driver wheels and the copper wipers.

I was shocked to discover that 3 of the 8 copper wipers were missing.  When I removed the plastic cover over the driver wheel assembly, I discovered that the copper wipers were part of a copper sheet that originally contained 8 copper wipers, one for each driver wheel.

I am probably not explaining this very well, but my question is:  how many of the 8 copper wipers are needed to operate properly.  There are three on one side and two on the other.

I plan to contact Bachmann and order a replacement part if necessary.  But, first, I wanted to check as to whether the 5 remaining wipers are sufficient.

Thanks.

Rich